Combined cover-slide and edge-guide



A. H. DE v05. COMBINED COVER SLIDE AND EDGE GUIDE.

APPLICATION HTED FEB. 17. 19H- Patented Dec. 2,1919.

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ALBERT H. DE VOE, OF WESTFIELD, NEW JERSEY, A SSIGNOR TO THE SINGER MANUFAC- TURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

COMBINED COVER-SLIDE AND EDGE-GUIDE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 2, 1919.

Application filed February 17, 1917. Serial No. 149,370.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, -A LBERT H. DE Von, a citizen of the United States, residing at Westfield, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Combined Cover-Slide and Edge-Guide, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawm s.

lhis invention relates to sewing machines and particularly to attachments for the cloth-plate thereof. 7

It has for its object to improve the construction disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 120,4:43, filed September 16, 1916, to enable an edge-guide carried by aslide-plate being set, within certain'limits, to any one of several positions at predetermined distances from the needle thereby avoiding strain of the operators vision which is frequently involved in the use of scales or similar devices commonly employed for this purpose.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a locking device for holding a cover-slide in guideways so that by a single application of force in the direction it is desired to move the slide-plate the same may be first unlocked-and moved substantially simultaneously with a little or no effort in a corresponding direction.

For accomplishing these results, the construction of the application mentioned has been modified by substituting for the camed for movement about either of two fulcrum studs on the cover-slide so that it may accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view and Fig. 2 a vertical section on line X-X, Fig. 1, of the preferred embodiment of my invention.

The cloth-plate 1 has araised portion 2 in which is provided an opening indicated generally at 3 bridged by a throat-plate 1 of suitable form having an elongated needlehole 5 therein through which a needle 5 is adapted to be reciprocated by any suitable mechanism. Cover-plates 6 and 7 are arranged fiush with and on opposite sides of the throat-plate and their edges 8 and 9 are beveled to fit undercut guideways 10 formed along the sides of the opening 3 in the cloth-plate. The cover-plate 7 is recessed in its bottom face as indicated in dotted lines at 11, Fig. 1, to receive the body or shank 12 of an edge-guide, the active fabric-engaging portion 13 of which extends at substantially right angles to the body or shank upward through a slot 14 in the cover-slide and forward over the throat-- plate 1 into close proximity with the needle 5. For adjusting the edge-guide on the cover-plate 7 the latter is formed with a slot 15 receiving a clamp-screw 16 tapped into the body or shank 12. The foregoing construction is substantially the same as that shown and described in the above mentioned application and the specific construction forms no part of the present invention.

A locking mechanism is provided for holding the cover-slide in any one of several positions, so that the edge-guide may be located a known distance from the needlepath when the character of thework renders it desirable to quickly change the distance of the stitching from the edge of the bodyfabric being operated upon. A rack 20 having teeth 21 of any suitable size is secured to the cloth-plate 2 along the sides of the guideways in a recess 22by screws 23 which pass through slots 24 in the rack, thereby affording facility for adjustment of the latter. Cooperating with the rack is a lever 25 movably mounted on the cover-slide 7 and having a projection or detent 28, constituting the latch proper, equipped with a suitable number of teeth 29 of suitable size which teeth are normally held in engagement with those on the rack by a spring 30 coiled about a pin 31 carried by a block 82 arranged internally of the lever (when viewed as in Fig. l), the block afl'ording a fixed abutment for one end of the spring 30 which at its opposite end impinges against a seat 33 on the lever. The lever 25 is out out as indicated on the drawing, the side walls 3st and of the incision being inclined to the base 36, and the block 32 screwed at 32 to the cover-slide within the substantially triangular shaped incision limits the rocking movement of the lever about either of the fulcrum-pins 37 embraced by the slots 38 formed in the lever adjacent the projection or latch after the latter has been disengaged from the rack. The slots 38 may be of any suitable form and length it being essential only that they permit the rocking movement of the lever about either fulcrum-pin suflicient to disengage the teeth on the latch from those on the rack. As shown, the slots are open-ended and the walls defining the same are respectively concentric to the opposite fulcrum-pin, being also spaced apart approximately the diameter of a pin. Preferably these pins 37 are provided with heads 37 which in conjunction with the wing 32 carried by the block hold the lever fiat against the cover-slide. Preferably also,.but not necessarily, the fulcrum-pins and slots are so constructed and arranged that they limit the bodily movement oi the lever and latch across the guideways and consequently limit the depth of engagement of the teeth on the latch and rack thereby eliminating the possibility of a looking or jamming, of the teeth when the rocking movement of the lever is initiated.

While the construction of the latch is especially useful in the relation shown and de scribed it is to be observed that said latch may be used in other relations where a sliding member or plate is fitted to guideways and quick rapid definite adjustment is a desideratum.

To move the edge-guide to the right as shown in Fig. 1 the lever 25 is pressedto the right. which causes the lever to swing about the righthand fulcrum-pin 37 as a pivot and trees the teeth 29irom the rack. The coverslide 7 now being released, continued pressure on lever 25 causes the plate to move to the right. On releasing the lever the spring 30 immediately presses the teeth 29 into engagement with the rack and locks the cover-plate in adjusted position. To move the cover-plate in the opposite direction'the lever 25 is operated in the reverse manner. Because the teeth may be made as smallor as large as desired the distances that the edge-guide is located'away from'the needle, which is predetermined by'the size of the teeth, may be selected tosuit the requirements ofthe work. By the particular double fulcrum arrangement for the latch-lever 25 the edge-guide'may be located with quickness and ease.

Having thus set forththe nature of the invention, what I claim herein is 1. In a sewing machine, in combination, a member provided with guideways, a plate fitted to said guideways for movement therein, devices on said member and plate respectively normally engaged to lock the plate against movement, and means manually movable by the application of force in either of two opposite directions to unlock and slide the plate in said guideways in a corresponding direction.

2. In a sewing machine, in combination, a member provided with guideways, a plate fitted to said guideways for movement therein, devices on said member and slate respeetively normally engaged to lock the plate against movement, and means manually movable by the application of force in either of two opposite directions to unlock and slide the plate in said guideways in the con. responding direction, said meansincluding a lever movable in opposition to a spring.

3. In a sewing machine, in combination, a member provided with guideways, aplate fitted to said guideways for movement therein, devices onsaid member and plate respe-- tively normally engaged to lock the plate against movement, means movable by the application of force in either of two dircctions to unlock and slide the plate in said guideways in a. corresponding direction, saiv means. including two fnlcrmn-pins and a lever arranged for rocking movement about either of the pins.

l. In a sewing machine, a cloth-plate pro vided with guideways, in combination with a cover-slide fitted to said guideways, and coacting locking devices on said plate and slide for holding the cover-slide in different positions against lengthwise movement in either direction, one of said devices forming means for moving the slide in either diroc tion.

5. In a sewing machine, a cloth-plate provided with guideways, in combination with a eover-slide fitted to saic guideways, and coacting locking elements on said clothplate and cover-slide for holding the latter against lengthwise movement in either direction, one of said elements being fixed adjust-ably to the cloth-plate and a mating element mounted onthe cover-slide for move ment in either of two intersecting paths, means for normally holding said elements in engagement, and, means tor moving" said mating elementin either of said paths." f

6.. a sewing machine having a needle, cloth'plate' provided with guideways, in

combination'with acover slid'e fitted to said guideways, an ed e-guide carried by said 'eoverslide, and devices for locking said cover-slide against movement in either "direction manually operable to hold the edgeguide in selected positions, a predetermined distance from the needle.

7. In a sewing machine having a needle, in combination, a slide-plate, an edge-guide thereon, and mechanism for holding said slide-plate against movement in either direction, including, a fixed element, and a movable element mounted on said slide-plate, and means for adjusting said movable element relative to said fixed element to position the edge-guide in any one of a plurality of positions at predetermined distances from the needle.

8. In a sewing machine havin guideways and a slide-plate fitted thereto, in combination, a toothed rack fixed parallel to said guideways, a lever having a toothed latch adapted to engage said toothed rack, two fulcrum-pins, means normally urging said lever in a direction to engage the latch with said rack, said lever being movable about ither of said fulcrunrpins to disengage the latch and rack and permit movement of the slide-plate.

9. In a sewing machine haviirg guideways and a slide-plate fitted thereto, in combination, an adjustable toothed rack fixed parallel to said guideways, a lever having a toothed latch adapted to engage said rack,

a spring normally urging said lever in a direction to engage the latch with said rack, two fulcrum-pins, said lever being movable about either of said fulcrum-pins to disengage the latch and rack and permit movement of the slide-plate.

10. In a sewing machine provided with guideways and a slide-plate fitted thereto, in combination, a. rack arranged parallel to said -guideways and having teeth, a lever, a

latch connected with said lever, said latch having teeth similar to those on the rack, a spring urging said lever in a direction across said guideways to thereby engage said latch and rack, and means limiting the movement of said lever across the guideway, said lever being movable in opposition to said spring to permit movement of the cover-slide in either direction.

11. In a sewing machine provided with guideways and a slide-plate fitted thereto, a rack, a latch normally engaged with said rack for locking said slide-plate against movement in either direction, said lever being movable in a plane parallel to said slide plate about either of two fulcra to disengage said latch and rack and permit movement of the slide-plate, and means limiting the movement of said lever after the disengagement mentioned so that continued application of force on the lever in the same direction will move the slide-plate in the guide ways.

12. In a sewing machine having guideways and a slide-plate fitted thereto, in com bination, a fixed rack, a latch adapted to engage said rack, a lever connected to the latch and provided with a recess, a fixed abutment. located within the outlines of said recess, a spring tensioned between said abutment and said lever for moving said lever to efl'ect an engagement of said latch and rack to lock the slide-plate againstmovement in either direction, and means permitting said lever to be rocked in either direction against the tension of said spring, said means including devices for limiting the depth of engagement of the teeth on the rack and latch.

13. In a sewing machine provided with guideways and a slide-plate fitted thereto, a rack, a lever having a projection or latch adapted to engage said rack, a spring for normally holding said latch and rack in engagement and two fulcrum-pins symmetrically disposed on opposite sides of the line in which the spring mormally functions whereby the lever may be rocked in either direction to disenga e the latch from the rack.

14:. In combination, a cloth-plate, a coverslide fitted thereto, a fixed locking means on said cloth-plate, and a second locking means on said slide, said slide being unlocked and moved in either of two directions by pressure on its locking means in the desired direction.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

ALBERT H. DE VOE. 

